Rain had jumbled Crick's schedule over the last week, ending his previous start early and pushing his next start back a day. But it stayed dry Friday and Crick was able to make his longest start of the season. He struck out six batters, walked one and allowed two hits.

Right-hander Derek Law, the Giant's No. 10 prospect, closed out the victory with a scoreless ninth inning. He leads the Eastern League with 10 saves this season.

Crick outdueled right-hander Nick Kingham, ranked No. 91 on MLBPipeline.com's Top 100 Prospects list. The Pirates' No. 8 prospect struck out four batters and held the Squirrels to two runs on four hits and four walks. But with Crick putting up zero after zero on the scoreboard, it wasn't enough.

Crick, ranked No. 28 on the Top 100, worked efficiently Friday. At one point, he recorded 14 consecutive outs and faced one batter over the minimum. He generated eight ground-ball outs and threw 79 pitches.

In seven starts this season, Crick is 2-1 with a 3.28 ERA. He has struck out 29 batters and walked 20 in 24 2/3 innings.